Zevon, Harrison, Cashes Among Dead Grammy Nominees

12/04/2003 8:57 PM, Reuters
Dean Goodman

They may have passed on to that great concert hall in the sky, but artists such as Warren Zevon , George Harrison , Johnny Cash and his wife still managed to pick up multiple Grammy nominations on Thursday.

Zevon, who died of lung cancer in September, scored four Grammy nominations, including song of the year, while Harrison nabbed three nods -- more than two years after he, too, succumbed to lung cancer.

Country royalty Johnny Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash , who died within months of each other earlier this year, landed four between them.

Other deceased nominees included Rosemary Clooney , Celia Cruz, soul legend Sam Cooke and blues giant Muddy Waters.

Zevon and Harrison will compete against each other for best male pop vocal performance, with their respective songs "Keep Me In Your Heart" and "Any Road." The Zevon tune is also competing for song of the year.

His collaboration with Bruce Springsteen on "Disorder in the House" is up for best rock song and best rock vocal performance by a duo or group with vocal.

Harrison's posthumous album "Brainwashed" will compete for best pop vocal album, and the tune "Marwa Blues" for pop instrumental performance.

Zevon never received a Grammy during his lifetime, while Harrison won a total of 10.

Johnny Cash's heartbreaking clip for "Hurt," his unlikely cover of a funereal tune by hard rock band Nine Inch Nails, will vie for short form music video. His work with June on "Temptation" competes for country collaboration with vocals.

That track came from her posthumous release "Wildwood Flower," which was nominated for traditional folk album. And her cover of the Carter Family's "Keep on the Sunny Side" will compete for female country vocal performance.

The Cash family was "thrilled and honored" by the recognition, said their manager, Lou Robin. "It's unfortunate that they just weren't here to share in the pleasure of it. But the music, I think, will prevail for years and years to come."

Cash has won 11 Grammys , including two he shared with his wife, and she also won a prize for a solo album.

Clooney, who died of complications from lung cancer in June 2002, was nominated for traditional pop vocal album for "The Last Concert." Coincidentally, she is virtually competing with herself as Bette Midler 's "The Rosemary Clooney Songbook" was also cited. Clooney never received a Grammy.

Two-time winner Cruz, who died of cancer in July, will compete for salsa/merengue album with "Regalo Del Alma."

Cooke and Waters will battle each other in the long form music video race, for their respective packages "Legend" and "Muddy Waters Can't Be Satisfied." Cooke was shot to death in 1964, while Waters died of a heart attack in 1983.

"I'm grateful that this fine documentary on the life and music of my brother, Sam Cooke, has been recognized this way," Cooke's brother, L.C. Cooke, said in a statement. "Our family has always been proud of Sam's legacy and we thrilled to share it."

Winners in all 105 categories will be announced during the 46th annual Grammy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Feb. 8.